Chamonix First Winter OlympicsMore Fun Facts

As you’ll have read in page 1, the IOC retrospectively awarded the title I Winter Olympic Games in 1925 a year after the games were completed. Why wasn’t it so named at the time?

Dušan
Zinaja of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (carrying national
flag and with skis on his right shoulder) during the Opening ceremony of
the Winter Olympic Games in 1924 in Chamonix, France

Source: Wikipedia,Commons, own archive

How did the Chamonix First Winter Olympics come to be?

It
seems that when the first modern Olympics were being arranged, the
organizers wanted winter sports as well, but there was disagreement as
to the venues and events. In the meantime, from 1901 Sweden every 4
years, hosted the world’s first organized winter games. The successful
Nordic Games were dominated by Sweden, Norway and Finland. The
Scandinavians wanted to keep the games on an amateur basis and were
critical at that time that the Olympics were not.

The
compromise was the International Winter Sports Week in 1924 and so as
to get the Scandinavians to attend, it was agreed it would not be called
the Olympics.

The International
Winter Sports Week, which went for 11 days from 25 January to 5 February
1924, was so successful, with 10,004 visitors, that the IOC in 1925
were happy to retrospectively rename the event the First Winter Olympic
Games.

The medals awarded were retroactively Olympic medals.

Chamonix First Winter Olympics - Finish Speed Skater Clas Thunberg

Action at Chamonix First Winter Olympics

The Ceremonies:

The
opening and closing ceremonies and a number of events were held at the
Stade Olympique de Chamonix, which is an equestrian stadium in
Chamonix, France.

During the
Opening Ceremony of the First Winter Olympics, many of the athletes
paraded with their equipment on their shoulders. According to the
rules at that time, athletes were to parade in their sportswear and that
included skis and hockey sticks as part of their equipment.

Chamonix First Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony

First Winter Olympics Medal

The very First Winter Olympic Medal was won by the American speed skater Charles Jewtraw in the 500 meters.

The Last Medal Awarded in 1974

The
last medal was awarded to the American Anders Haugen for Bronze in the
Ski Jump. Due to a scoring error, he wasn’t awarded the medal until 50
years later.

The Biggest Winners

The
Scandinavians dominated the games, winning 27 of the total of 43
medals, with Norway – 17 medals and Finland 10 medals. They won all
four Nordic events and 4 of the 5 speed skating races.

Amazing Canada!

Canada won all its hockey games, beating• Czechoslovakia 30–0• Switzerland 33–0• Sweden 22–0 • Great Britain 19–2• with a final victory win against the US 6–1!

A
bobsleigh track was constructed at the foot of the glacier of the same
name, for the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France. It was named
the La Piste de Bobsleigh des Pellerins (Pellerins Bobsleigh Track in
(French)).

Track:• Length: 1369.88 meters• Descent: 156.29 meters• No of Curves: 19• Maximum speed reached: 115km/hr• Located near the village of Les Pelerins• The old Aiguille du Midi cable car was used to cart equipment up the track• The track is no longer in use.

Chamonix - An Ideal Winter Resort for Family Vacations

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